May 23, 2011 3:54pm EDTMay 23, 2011 3:18pm EDTVirginia's Danny Hultzen, the ACC's pitcher of the year, is being compared to Phillies ace Cliff Lee and is a candidate to go first overall in the June 6 draft.

With the major league baseball draft approaching, here’s a name you will hear a lot: Danny Hultzen. On Monday, Virginia’s left-handed ace was named the ACC’s pitcher of the year. His coach compares him to Phillies ace Cliff Lee, and opposing coaches have said they were proud to have coached against him—and that they’re glad he’ll soon be gone.

Hultzen has been the team’s ace since he arrived as a freshmen three years ago. “He’s a much, much improved pitcher now,” says Virginia coach Brian O’Connor, who was named ACC coach of the year. “His velocity is better, his offspeed pitches are better, his endurance is better.”

Hultzen is a candidate to go first overall in the June 6 draft. The Pirates have the first pick.

Even when he starts poorly, Hultzen has shown the composure to stay in games. “This is the thing that I think separates Danny Hultzen from his peers,” O’Connor said. “There are a lot of pitchers in college baseball who will struggle and not be able to make it out of the fifth inning. That has not been him at all this year.”

Hultzen says the area he has improved in the most is transitioning from a thrower to a pitcher. “In high school, you just rear back and thorw it as hard as you can. That’s basically all there was to it. I learned in college that doesn’t work.”